


The Blue Pearl

by Cookiejuice



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU, Anzu and Mai are Jou’s besties fight me, Club AU, M/M, Pole Dancing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22455025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookiejuice/pseuds/Cookiejuice
Summary: He didn’t know the exact date when he started working at ‘The Blue Pearl’, his time there having become kind of a blur in his mind.Jounouchi always had a love for dancing, and when a new establishment needed performers, he went for it.Kaiba decided to expand his business beyond just Kaiba Corporation.What do these two things have in common?It’s about the same place.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 12
Kudos: 45





	1. Ch. 1

He didn’t know the exact date when he started working at ‘The Blue Pearl’, his time there having become kind of a blur in his mind. But it had been a few months, of that he was sure. About four, he guessed.

Jounouchi Katsuya was just as everyone remembered and knew him from his teenage years. He still played Duel Monsters, still hung around with the same group of friends, and still worked at the same family restaurant as he did back in high school. The restaurant’s owner, a somewhat chubby and cheerful middle aged man named Jones, had always been very supportive of him, and the man had become sort of an uncle to the blond over the years. He had worked himself up from delivery boy to waiter, and ocassionally helped out in the kitchen. It was a fun job, and it paid enough for him to survive on his own. However, there was something else...

Jounouchi had also always enjoyed dancing. He was never really any good at it, but he enjoyed the feeling of losing ones mind and body to the music. It was per Anzu’s suggestion, that he went and tried out lessons. But none of that stiffy ballroom stuff. He went straight to latin dance, as well as streetstyle dancing. And it was due to missing up schedules that he arrived at a pole dancing class. 

Surrounded by only women, he felt both comfortable and uncomfortable in the warm room. The only association with the item before him were the strippers and hookers he’d run into as a child when he strolled through the bad neighbourhoods at night. But Jounouchi Katsuya was no coward! And so he tried to follow the instructor, his hands sliding around the metal of the pole. At the end of the hour long lesson, he was surprised at himself at how much he enjoyed it. The women talked about how powerful and sexy they felt after, and the blond man had to agree. So he started coming in weekly for lessons, getting more familiar with the sexualised object in the room, and appreciating the power and beauty that was pole dancing.

He also still participated in Duel Monsters tournaments. He won a few, lost others, but never got lower than the top three. Which he was happy about and thought he deserved a pat on the back tor that. Besides, the prize money was a nice extra, and it was a chance to spend time with Yuugi, and sometimes Mokuba, if the event was sponsored by Kaiba Corporation. Which unfortunately also meant that Kaiba Seto would be there. Their fights had mellowed down now that they were both adults, but the brunet still managed to get under his skin.

So one could say he had made a pretty good life for himself. Sure, his friends had scattered over the planet following their own dreams, but they kept in contact. He had a video call with both Anzu and Mai about every two weeks to catch up properly. Honda worked at the garage that Jounouchi brought his bike to for maintenance, and the two went out for drinks once every few weeks. Shizuka was at college (the same one that, coincidentally, Mokuba went to), and stopped by almost weekly to have dinner together. All sounds pretty damn perfect, doesn’t it?

But Jounouchi missed something in his life. He sometimes felt his adult life was boring, and missed the excitement of his younger years, craved it even. It was while walking through the club district of Domino, that he noticed one of the establishments being renovated. He watched as they hung up the new sign.

‘The Blue Pearl’

Curious, he walked inside. It appeared they were currently holding auditions for performers. Jounouchi watched as some girl awkwardly hobbled around the pole, and walked up to, what he supposed was, one of the people in charge.

“Hey, what kind of club is this going to be? With the poles and all? Just curious”, he asked innocently.  
“Not a stripclub if that’s what you’re thinking”, the woman huffed, turning to him and lowering her glasses, watching him over the rim. “The Blue Pearl is a mixture of dance performances and a host and hostess establishment. Yes there are poles, but we are classy, I don’t intend there to be any stripping or waving around money”. She then arched a perfect eyebrow at him “Why, would you like to try out?” She looked him up and down as Jounouchi let that thought and idea sink in. He did love dancing, but performing? And as himself? “Is there an, uh, option to be incognito?” The woman chuckled, putting her glasses back up on her nosebridge. “As long as it’s not in the way of your performance, you may dress however you want, hon. Now, are you going to show me what you got, or not?”

And here he was, four months later, in a backstage dressing room of The Blue Pearl. His own dressing room. He looked in the mirror as he applied some golden shimmer eyeshadow on his lids, tongue sticking out in concentration as he followed up with black eyeliner. His outfit of choice for tonight were some black leather booty shorts and a burgundy blous left partly open to expose tanned chest. As a male, he did not wear stilettos like some of the girls did, but his black calf height boots did have a small heel to make his legs look better. His blond mess of a hair was tucked neatly underneath a shoulder length dark red wig. Giving himself a once over in the mirror, he finished up his look with a clear lipgloss.

“Red! You’re up!”, yelled Bernadette, one of the other girls. 

‘Red’ looked at himself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and walked out of the dressing room, to the stage he had gotten so very familiar with.

“Good luck, hot stuff”. Walking towards him was Emily, another one of the girls who worked there. Her brunette curls danced around her smiling face as she walked, and she was sweaty from her own performance. “I warned them up for you”, she winked, patting him on the shoulder as they passed each other. Jounouchi laughed. “Thanks Em”.

As he stood in front of the red curtains, he took another deep breath as he slipped into his performer persona. Showtime.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

‘“As you can see, sir, the establishments are doing very well for themselves.

Kaiba Seto reached our to take the stack of papers from the man in front of him. Looking through them, he stopped at a particular paper with graphs. “What happened here?”, he asks calmly, putting the paper down for the other to see.

“The Blue Pearl? One of our performers blew up. He is our only male dancer, and that gathered attention from customers. He has gotten excellent ratings on his hosting, as well. It is a shame he doesn’t work every night, really”, the man chuckled. 

“I see. I was just curious, since it is quite a big difference in numbers in a small amount of time. Thank you for the update, mr Takanaka. You may go”.

The other man stood up and bowed before leaving the room.

It had been quite a strange idea, to buy out buildings in the party district, and extend his business to clubs. Kaiba Corporation was still, most of all, a game related company. But he had seen no harm in expanding, and Mokuba had thought the same.

He picked up the paper again, his eyes going over the figures as he rested his hand on his chin. A popular male performer, huh? It was indeed curious, as the district was mostly visited by men. But this particular establishment had a more balanced patronage of all genders, and it pleased Kaiba. 

However, he didn’t think about it more than that, putting the papers aside and focusing on other work that needed to be done.


	2. Chpt 2

He truly was grateful for Jones sometimes. The man knew Jounouchi had a second job at night, and he always made sure he didn’t have to work the day after. Jounouchi yawned as he got out of bed the next morning at around eleven am, walking to his kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. He’d be meeting up with Honda at the gym at noon, it was a weekly thing they did.

“There you are, I secured a bench for you”, Honda spoke when Jounouchi walked into the gym. He gave his buddy a fistbump and grinned. “Thanks man”. The two collected some equipment to their little spot and started working out. Today was upper body day.

After the gym, Honda and Jounouchi parted ways and Jounouchi made his way to The Blue Pearl.

“Hey Red, what’s up?”  
Yamamoto Rosa was the only person from The Pearl who knew his actual name, yet she called him by his stage persona just like everyone else did. The boss lady of The Blue Pearl was a tall woman, with short black hair that was usually slicked back. Green eyes seemed to be always watching you from behind her rectangular glasses, and she always was dressed for business in tapered pants and dress shirts with often a blazer, showing off her curvy figure nicely. She had an air around her that demanded attention and obedience, that said ‘do not underestimate’. After all, she wasn’t the boss lady by chance, she had made her own career. 

“Just stoppin’ by to grab some things I forgot yesterday”, Jounouchi smiled, and Rosa nodded. She was a very attractive woman, and Jounouchi knew that some of the staff, both men and ladies, swooned for her. He’d heard Alex sigh dreamily as she walked by once, saying “I want her to step on me with her stilettos” in a soft whisper, but audible enough for the blond to hear and shake his head at. “Found a blog post praising your performance again”, the woman smiled, turning her tablet to show him. “Are you sure you don’t want to work more nights? You bring in a lot of traffic”. Jounouchi shook his head with a chuckle. “Nah, I’m good with my current schedule. Dancin’ and Hostin’ again on friday, right?” Rosa nodded, turning back to her work, and Jounouchi went off to grab his things and head home. He could use a shower after that workout earlier.

—-  
Anzu started laughing when he turned on the camera. “You look hilarious”, to which Mai snorted in agreement. To be frank, Jounouchi did look pretty ridiculous currently. Wearing a Red Eyes Black Dragon onesie, his wild hair held back with a fleece headband with kitten ears, and a black charcoal beauty mask on his face, and in his hands he was clutching a large mug of fresh, hot tea. “A guy’s gotta take care of his body, yanno”, the male huffed in response, taking a sip of his tea, carefully as to not burn his tongue, making a slurping noise as he did.

Honda was his best bud, but Anzu and Mai had always been kind of like sisters to him. And with both of them living on the other side of the ocean, it was a bit harder to keep in contact as much, even more so with timezones. But so far, they’ve managed to match up for a video call about every two weeks. Anzu was enjoying herself in New York, working at a dance studio after graduation and applying for theater roles when they pop up. Mai had gone back to her roots and was working casinos in Las Vegas. 

“Anyway, what’s up on yer end of the water?”, Jounouchi inquired as he sipped his tea. Anzu smiled brightly and started chippering away about her students, this new role she auditioned for, and complaining, once again, that New York winters were no joke. 

“You better bring warm clothing, Mai”. Mai giggled, swirling her glass of Prosecco. “Don’t worry about it, I have sweaters and pants galore”. Jounouchi had a slight pout at their interaction. “Wish I could join ya. You guys still plan to come over for the summer, right?” 

“Ofcourse! I’ll let you know when I have booked so we can make plans”, Mai smiled at him through the screen. “Same for me! And don’t worry Jou, we’ll bring you souvenirs”, Anzu chimed in. The blond grinned, and they continued their call until it got too late on Anzu’s end.

The next day was a regular workday for Jounouchi, waiting tables and helping out in the kitchen at the restaurant. After work, he went home to make and eat dinner before making his way to pole dance class. Both the instructor and the girls who followed the class knew him by now, and he got met with cheerful greetings when he walked in. The instructor had made a Britney Spears remix for today, and after class he asked her for a download link, as it was quite fitting for an at home dance party.

Friday came around soon enough, and it was time to work at The Pearl again. He would be hosting for a few hours before taking his performance on stage again. For the hosting part he was dressed a lot more clothed, for obvious reasons. Black slacks and a black blouse with the top three buttons unbuttoned, a sleek black choker and his red wig.

Jounouchi enjoyed being a host, almost as much as being on stage. The guests weren’t allowed to touch him, but he was allowed a finger light touch to arms and shoulders. Those touches, matched with his boyish charm, seemed to be quite the killer combo for some of the patrons. It stroked his ego, although he made sure not to let it get to his head. Getting arrogant would do him no good, after all.

It was about three hours later, that he got tapped on the shoulder by Alex, winking at him. “I’m sorry ladies, but Red has to leave you”. A soft whine came from the two women he was currently entertaining. “But you can admire him on stage later. In the meantime, I’ll be your hostess”. Jounouchi said his goodbyes and walked away, making his way back to his dressing room.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Mokuba had shown him a blog article about one of his clubs, The Blue Pearl. Or more specifically, one if its dancers. “He’s getting a lot of attention bro, isn’t that nice? Means the club’s doing well”.

Taking the tablet from him, Kaiba Seto skimmed over the article. Apparently it wasn’t the first time someone had written about this particular performer. “Too bad there aren’t any pictures, though”, Mokuba added. Yes, too bad indeed, as Kaiba was getting curious. But it was club policy that photos of the staff weren’t allowed, to respect their privacy. 

After reading the article, he gave the tablet back to Mokuba, who then took a seat on the couch in his office and continued his work.

Meanwhile Kaiba opened the club’s website on his pc browser and clicked until he got to the schedule. All performers and hosts used an alias for protection, and it took him a few seconds to find ‘Red’s’ schedule. It appears that he was in again on Friday. A quick check of his calendar showed he had a free evening, and as he leaned back in his chair, he entertained the thought of visiting The Blue Pearl. See it for himself.

——

Friday came around, and in the end his curiosity had won from him. He took one of his less expensive cars, and had even made an effort to disguise himself. He might own the club, but he didn’t want that to be in the way of his visit. No special treatments.

A short, icy blue wig was the most noticeable change in his appearance. His outfit was more casual than he usually wore, it being dark wash jeans and a navy blouse with black dress shoes. Nothing too fancy. Most people probably didn’t think he even owned a pair of jeans.

The first thing he noticed when he walked in were the stripper poles, and he frowned. This was supposed to be a classy club, what were stripper poles doing here? He got brought to a small booth in the back and ordered himself a coffee as he looked around the establishment.

There was smooth jazz music playing, and he liked the interior colour palette of browns, reds and blacks. Smooth leathers and shiny woods, with some marble accents. Classy, as he intended, Miss Yamamoto had done a good job at the decoration.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and those of other genders. Thank you for visiting ‘The Blue Pearl’ tonight!” Speaking of Miss Yamamoto.

“I won’t keep you waiting much longer. I give you, Red!” Yamamoto walked off stage, her heels clacking against the wood.

And out came, presumably, Red. In brown booty shorts and a black blouse, with shoulder length dark red hair. He walked over to the pole and ran his hand over it as he walked around it until he faced the audience. His lips curled in a, what Kaiba could only interpret as mischievous, grin as the music switched to a different smooth jazz number.

Taking his coffee, Kaiba sat back in his booth. “Well then, let’s see what the fuss is all about, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the (overwhelmingly) positive responses on the first chapter! Hope you liked this one as well c:
> 
> Did you know there is a discord server for those who love KaiJou? Because there is, and it’s great fun! If you want to join in on the shenanigans, you can join us over on https://discord.gg/e7S5ubR ! See you there?


	3. Chapt. 3

He should have known better.

There was a reason ‘Red’ was popular, after all. And try as he may, Kaiba Seto was not as devoid of emotion as the media sometimes made him out to be. He didn’t get easily flustered, no, but yet here he was. Red was..mesmerizing, was the first word that came to mind. Kaiba sat back against the leather of the booth he was in, his coffee abandoned on the table in front.

Mesmerizing, yes. His body moved with the slow jazz music, elegant in a way Kaiba did not think pole dancing could be. Even from this distance and with the dimmed lighting, he could see how lean and muscled Red’s legs were as he hung high on the pole, thighs clamping the metal object between them. The dancer leaned backwards, arching his back, arms stretching over his head elegantly, and keeping perfect balance as he did. The open blouse revealed a ten, muscular chest, and Kaiba noticed certain thoughts were trying to find their way to the forefront. Or more specifically, to his pants. He shifted in his seat, picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip as a temporary distraction.

Putting the cup down, he directed his attention back to the stage. Red had slid down the pole to the ground, legs stretched in the air as he turned, back arched and chest against the pole as he stood up slowly, ass out. Like a cat stretching leisurely after a nap. His narrow hips swung gently, and quite erotically, Kaiba thought, from side to side as he walked around the pole. Then he swung his legs up and was on the pole again, one of his knees around it, holding him in place with his other thigh as he leaned forward, towards the audience, and came back up slowly. His hands running through his hair and down his neck, over his chest, the motion exposing even more tanned chest, and down his hips, before grabbing back unto the pole.

Kaiba’s breath hitched as he watched, sitting at the edge of his seat. He couldn’t remember when he’d last seen something so erotic, yet so graceful and elegant. Red was pulling him in with every move of his well-toned body, and Kaiba couldn’t pull his eyes away from him. The music ended, and Red stood, facing the audience. A slight shiver ran down Kaiba’s spine when he felt Red was looking his way, looking at _him_ , even more when the dancer’s lips twisted into a smirk. Kaiba averted his eyes, sitting back and reaching for his coffee again.

Red walked off-stage, and Kaiba released a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, as the rest of the audience clapped politely. Yamamoto took the stage again, announcing something, but Kaiba wasn’t listening. He didn’t think the dancer’s performance would catch him like that, and he scowled, cursing at himself for being so easily entranced. Assuming Red’s performance was over, he got ready to leave. After all, that was what he had come here for. But when a woman walked on stage, Red followed behind her, wearing black slacks this time. Intrigued again, Kaiba sat back down. 

He wasn’t going to dance this time. No, he was going to _sing_. Leaning forward again, his elbows on his knees and fingers intertwined, he watched as the music started up again. The woman started to dance on the pole, but Kaiba’s eyes weren’t on her. They were on Red, who started singing along to the jazz music. A low, smooth voice, not a note out of tune, and Kaiba found himself once more mesmerized with the man on the stage. It was soothing and energizing both at once, and he wanted to close his eyes to really emerge himself in the sound. But that would mean missing out on the delicious sight of the man singing it.

When the performance ended, the audiencr clapped politely again, and so did Kaiba. Taking his coffeecup again, he drained the last of the, now luke warm, liquid, ready to go back home after paying. When he looked up, he noticed a presence nearby.

When did Red walk over to him? And why? Being faced with the dancer up close, he could notice little sweatdrops down his neck and into his blouse, making the exposed tan chest glisten beautifully in the dim lighting. Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke. Kaiba was too distracted by Red’s… everything. The quiet tension was broken with a grin from Red, a knowing and mischievous one. As the dancer passed Kaiba, he ran his fingers over the other’s shoulder, leaning closer. “I hope you enjoyed the show, Blue”, he spoke in a soft purr, next to Kaiba’s sensitive ear shell, and the icyblue haired male had to force down a shudder. “Maybe I’ll see you around again~”. The fingers then trailed off Kaiba’s shoulder, and Red walked away.

Kaiba was stunned in silence for a few seconds, then grabbed his coat and bolted out, throwing some bills on the bar as he passed it.

_What the fuck had just happened?!_

•••••••••••••••

Even in the dim lighting, Jounouchi could make out the icy blue hair in the back. After all, it was very different from the natural haircolours everyone else was sporting.

As Jounouchi went through his routine, he could feel the new stranger’s eyes on him, watching intently. Despite being on stage, and for a full audience, this one person’s eyes on him felt exhilerating, in a strange way. So when he finished, he directed his gaze in the direction of the stranger, a knowing smirk on his glossed lips.

He wondered if they would stay for his follow up performance, providing a voice for Emily’s routine. He was done after this, and as much as he enjoyed working at The Pearl, he was glad for it. Three hours of hosting, followed by a pole performance and singing, had him tired and longing for a hot shower.

Having changed into his black slacks again, he took the mic and sang along to the smooth jazz music that was playing. When Rosa had first proposed the idea of singing lessons to him, he’d laughed at her, but now he was glad for her suggestion.

He felt the stranger’s eyes on him once again, and he couldn’t push back a grin. When his performance was over, he felt like taking it up a notch, get more of that ego stroking attention. So he hopped off stage and walked to the back, stopping in front of the stranger, who was finishing their.. coffee? He wasn’t sure. Could have been tea. Who drank coffee or tea at a club?

Jounouchi relished in the speechless response he got, dragging it on for a few seconds until he decided to be bold. Raking his fingers over the stranger’s shoulder as he leaned close to their ear, breathing against it before he smirked.

“I hope you enjoyed the show, Blue”. An unimaginative nickname, yes, but cut a guy some slack. “Maybe I’ll see you around again”. If he wasn’t scaring them away currently. He let his fingers linger as he walked around the booth and behind it, towards the dressing rooms.

Man, he really couldn’t wait to get that hot shower when he got home.

**Author's Note:**

> You ever get a random au idea and decide to try your hand at writing it even though you haven’t written a longer fic in over a decade? Yeah same.


End file.
